By midday ten days later, Princess Kate's party finally arrived in Raneteink Lek, the capital city of Innutuk Proper. Generous rays of sunlight beamed down on the travelers as they went over the spot where rural dirt road gave way to flattened cobblestone. As they advanced farther into the city, reddish brick buildings sprouted out of the ground and shielded them from the warming rays.

Kate peeked out of her open carriage door and stared with wonder at the grandness of the city around her. With all the buildings constructed of stone, brick, or other such hard materials, the architecture struck her as handsome and grounded, like even the worst of disasters could never stand a chance of toppling them. And the absence of any floral beautification along the walls like was so common in Monterayne gave Innutuk's capital a rather artificial atmosphere.

Once the party had more fully surrounded themselves in Innutukian architecture, Kate began to spot more citizens milling about, the majority of which were women. Most of them sported dark hair, either black or nearly so, with lithe figures and mannerisms full of grace and femininity. Flowing dresses in a variety of colors draped over their bodies, though crimson and scarlet hues enjoyed greater representation. The few men Kate did spot appeared to be wilted husks of their former selves, men who had seen better days.

By and by, they came to a rusty gate comprised of crude, thick vertical bars held together by wooden horizontal beams. Here, Kate first laid eyes on Innutukian men in their prime, brawny masses of muscle with grim faces, encased in thick plates of unrefined armor. Her chief bodyguard descended from his horse and cautiously approached to greet them.

The Innutukians spat some words in their harsh language at Kate's bodyguard, to which he raised an eyebrow and requested they speak in Monteraynian or Alcontean. After exchanging a glance, the taller of the pair began speaking in broken Alcontean.

Kate's fluency in the language was limited, but she picked out the Innutukian guard ordering her bodyguard to make his intentions known. He told the Innutukian that his master wished to speak with their emperor, to which the guards chattered amongst themselves for a few seconds. Then one of them opened the gate a sliver and darted through.

Several awkward minutes of waiting passed. Kate fidgeted inside her carriage, occasionally peeking her head out to check if the Innutukian guard had returned, and her chief bodyguard leaned against the gate with crossed arms. His refined plate armor gleamed in the sunlight trickling through a nearby alleyway.

Finally, the Innutukian guard returned, and after beginning his statement in Innutukian, he halted and spoke again in his rusty Alcontean. He informed the chief Monteraynian bodyguard that the emperor would accept their visit, but they would first have to undergo a thorough search, and any weapons they deemed too dangerous for the palace would be confiscated until their departure. After conceding that to be a reasonable request, Kate's chief bodyguard laid his spear down in the grass and allowed himself to be searched.

The pair of Innutukians rustled through every saddlebag, each pocket and fold of the Monteraynians' clothing, and even urged Princess Kate out of her carriage so they could probe inside there. She stood with hands on her hips and watched as they uselessly crammed their heads underneath the seat, reached into the empty cup holder, and many such needlessly thorough search procedures.

While she waited for the search to be completed, Kate glanced over at Manfred and Andre, who were both still busy in straightening their clothes after having been jostled around in the name of security. Manfred's trouser pockets had been turned inside out, so he worked away at cramming them back into place.

Andre finished rolling his sleeves into neat cuffs before moving on to buttoning his shirt again. Kate found herself baffled how the guards had managed to separate the buttons, but she couldn't exactly complain about the chance to get a glimpse of Andre's muscular chest underneath, along with well-defined abdominals that glistened slightly from a midday sweat. She averted her gaze just in time to avoid Andre catching her silent admiration. Her cheeks heated, though, so she could only imagine her blush was giving her away.

At long last, the Innutukians concluded their search, and after a quartet of reinforcements emerged from within the gates, they slid the entryway open and escorted Kate's party through. They proceeded down a dirt path leading to a stable where the horses were stowed away along with the carriage and supply wagons. The Innutukian guards forbade any ranged or concealed weapons inside the palace, leaving Kate's party with only her bodyguards' spears and Manfred and Andre's swords.

They strolled down a wide cobblestone path on foot, surrounded on either side by a row of majestic stone pillars carved from top to bottom with intricate designs, mostly stylized portrayals of famous battles. On either side of the pillar-lined path, well-kept grass of a bluish green color formed a lush, natural carpet for off-duty guardsmen to train and grapple on.

The cobblestone path ended at a wide stairway leading up to a grand platform, at the end of which stood a broad door of pure gold. As Kate ascended the steps, she squinted at the carvings adorning its surface, but it was only when she reached the landing that she could fully take in the sight. The faces of the entire succession of Innutukian emperors up to the time the door had been made spread across its surface, a genealogy of hearty men with scarred faces and glorious beards coveted by men of all the other lands.

After entering the grandiose Innutukian palace, filled with statues of famous warriors with chiseled bodies and weapons of exaggerated length and size, the march continued on its way to the throne room. Kate admired the beauty as she passed it, but her mind primarily occupied itself with preparing words for her meeting with the foreign emperor. She could only pray her diplomacy was effective, and didn't instead make matters worse.

Sooner than Princess Kate could have imagined, the Innutukian guards cranked a pair of double doors aside that stretched from ceiling to floor. Inside the expansive chamber within sat the Innutukian emperor upon his throne, a sturdy masterpiece of wooden furniture with legs carved to resemble a pair of lions carrying the burden of the ruler seated there. An octet of armed guards with bulky shields in their hands stood in fours on either side of the throne.

Princess Kate approached the throne timidly. The imposing emperor accelerated her heartbeat and shattered her confidence with just one impassive stare. But with a gulp, she crossed the velvet carpet paving the path between the door and the throne, and once she'd come within a few feet of the foreign ruler, she lowered herself to her knees, bowed her head, and folded her hands in her lap. She heard her party follow suit behind her.

For what felt like an eternity, Princess Kate bowed. But then the Innutukian emperor clucked out one word. "Stand."

She obliged him, pulling herself to her feet and offering a kind smile that was somewhat forced. "Greetings, your majesty, Emperor Hakentaknid." Kate said, "My father sends his best wishes...and a gift."

With that, her chief bodyguard stepped forward, stooped on one armored knee, and opened a handsome wooden box containing a gleaming emerald the size of an egg. Emperor Hakentaknid nodded calmly at the sight of the gem and motioned one of his guards forward to retrieve it.

While the guards exchanged the gem, the emperor met Kate's eyes directly. "If your father wishes to bribe me," he said in his gruff, consonant-stressing Innutukian accent, "you may leave now and inform him of his great failure."

Princess Kate swallowed with some effort and kept an iron grip on her composed but pleasant demeanor. "That was never his intention, your majesty. My father only intended to give reassurance of his benevolent intentions."

"I see. In that case, why did he send his daughter instead of showing his face here himself?"

"Well, my father is hosting a delegation of eastern nations at the moment, but he wished not to delay this errand of diplomacy, and hence he sent me."

Emperor Hakentaknid ran a finger along the edge of his bearskin robes. "What, then, is this diplomatic errand you speak of?"

"Well, the Kingdom of Monterayne has been at war with your empire for many years now, a fact you are no stranger to. However, three years of unofficial standstill have intervened, and my father and I are convinced that an officialization of that peace would be mutually advantageous. After all, the recent trade war was primarily a conflict with the Alcontean Republic, and as they have successfully obtained your signature on a similar treaty, I see no reason why Monterayne should be any different."

"I wholeheartedly agree."

Kate's grin leapt to her lips a little faster than she would have preferred for appearance's sake. Her spirits elevated just as swiftly. "You...you do? In that case—"

"On one condition."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

Emperor Hakentaknid sat up straight in his throne and scratched his thick black beard. "If your father wishes to prove he actually cares for Innutuk's welfare and not only for his own agenda, he must pass possession of the land of Aroria into our hands."

Kate recoiled as subtly as she could manage at the words she had just heard. "Surely you jest! To take Aroria away from Monterayne would be like taking a man's hand from his body!"

"And explain to me why that is."

"Because...Aroria feeds Monterayne, essentially. Even when we have a bad year of crops, Aroria still produces enough to help us through."

"And that is exactly what Innutuk needs this instant." the emperor said, "A terrible famine has befallen our land, princess, and if you failed to notice that on your way here, I pity your blindness. My people starve, for the fire gods have descended and struck the land. The children go to bed with empty stomachs and awake the same, and yet you stand here, complaining about the prospective of your precious surplus being used to provide for our need."

Kate's forehead wrinkled. "Monterayne will gladly sell you as much of this year's harvest as we are able, but the prospect of selling—"

"And where will the money come from to buy these crops? Your father allied himself with Alconte to drive us out of the lucrative eastern markets, and Forbache is just as closed-off as either of you. The policies of your father have nearly emptied Innutuk's purse, and now to fill our bellies, you would have us to empty it further."

"And what do you propose as an alternative?" Kate asked with a shrug, "If we were to give Aroria into your hands, what if Monterayne were to have a bad year? Then we would only undergo the same hardship as you, emptying our purse into Innutuk's coffers to fill our bellies."

"Perhaps that would be best for all concerned parties. Balance must be restored, and I see no better way to achieve that."

"Is there truly no other way? What if we were to give Aroria's surplus this year away, at no price?"

The low rumble of Emperor Hakentaknid's laughter echoed through the throne room. "That would only be stealing the crops from the land's farmers without any compensation. Is that truly what Monterayne stands for?"

Kate hung her head and bit her lip. "No, your majesty. That is not what we stand for."

"Then the choice is obvious. You give Innutuk food, and Innutuk gives you peace."

Kate glanced up sharply. "How will you be able to give us anything other than peace if this famine is as severe as you say it is?"

"It is simple. If you will not give Aroria, then we will take it."

Princess Kate's lips parted in shock. Silence lingered between the two as Kate's mind raced for a solution to this dilemma. One way or another, Innutuk was sure to get Aroria, but would it better to roll over and show a figurative belly to the empire, or put up a good fight and possibly retain the status quo?

What sort of status quo is this to maintain, though? she pondered, Is it really right for innocent children to starve merely for our prosperity to continue? What have they done to deserve this?

But on the other hand, if Monterayne did concede here, would it eventually be her own children going hungry? Would Innutuk truly have as generous a hand as their emperor claimed?

"Perhaps your father will be more sensible than you have been."

Kate's eyes leapt up to the Innutukian emperor. "What do you mean by that, your majesty?"

Emperor Hakentaknid narrowed his eyes. "I only mean that when you fail to return to Monterayne, perhaps that will be the push your father requires to comply with my request.

"You mean...?"

"You will be detained, princess. I have been left no choice."

The thud of metal boots on the stone floor sounded as Kate's four bodyguards spread out and pointed their spears threateningly at the Innutukian guards. Andre and Manfred rushed to her sides.

"With all due respect, Emperor," her chief bodyguard said resolutely, "I will not allow that."

**** 

A/N: What can I say? Sometimes negotiations don't go nearly as well as hoped. For instance, my negotiating with you to get a vote and some comments may fail. 

But I hope not. 🤣 

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed that chance at seeing Kate's diplomatic skills. I know she didn't succeed, but how would you say she did? 

Somehow, I can foresee there being a hate cult against ol' Emperor Hakentaknid here, so make sure to converge here if you're interested in joining that. 😂 

At any rate, I have another chapter to post this morning, so don't go anywhere if you can help it. Let's see where these physical negotiations go. 😉